Misty and Larry Shaffer have been together since high school . She went to his senior prom ; he went to her junior and senior proms . They got married in October 2008 .

He never said anything about her being overweight .

When Larry , an Army specialist , was deployed to Afghanistan for a year in 2012 , Misty decided she wanted to get in shape .

She weighed about 260 pounds when he left , and less than 155 pounds when he returned .

`` I just sat in bed one night and was like , ' I can do this , ' '' she said . '' ' I need to do this . ' ''

Shaffer , now 25 and living in Leland , North Carolina , has struggled with her weight her whole life , even as a child .

Each time she had tried dieting in the past , she would relapse . Before she became pregnant with her daughter , Nevaeh , she took diet pills and lost 60 pounds . But all that -- and more -- came back after she stopped taking the pills . At her heaviest , she weighed around 300 pounds . She 's 5 feet 6 inches tall .

`` I would eat when I was bored . I 'd eat three huge meals a day , and then snack in between . Sad or happy , I 'd turn to food for everything . ''

Shaffer felt tired all the time . People picked on her . She wanted to surprise her husband , and work toward a better life for herself and her family .

Her primary mission : Cut out all the junk . She stopped drinking soda , and tried to limit her liquids to water and coffee .

upwave : Try it now ! No fast food for a week

The first three to four months were the hardest , she said . Once she got past that , she started craving more healthy foods and water . It got to the point where , if she drank a diet soda , it made her so thirsty that she did n't even want it .

Shaffer 's job presented its own challenges ; she 's a personal shopper at a supermarket . At lunch time , the hot fried chicken `` just smells so good , '' she said . But the supermarket also offers a large , well-kept salad bar , as well as warm vegetables on the hot bar and oven-baked chicken .

A typical breakfast for Shaffer is oatmeal with fruit or a cereal bar . On her days off , she 'll cook up sausage , eggs or pancakes , but she 'll watch her portion size . Around 10 a.m. she has a snack , such as fruit or carrots .

Lunch is a salad or half a sandwich with some kind of vegetable or fruit . An afternoon snack might be yogurt .

For dinner , she eats a lean meat -LRB- like ground turkey or a boneless , skinless chicken breast -RRB- , a vegetable and a very small portion of starch .

The big day , Larry Shaffer 's return , was May 15 , 2013 . The soldier had never seen his wife weigh less than 220 pounds , even in high school .

When she saw him at the airport , Misty Shaffer did n't know what to say or do . She just ran and jumped into his arms .

Her husband was speechless , uttering only one word : `` Wow . ''

It was the first time he had ever picked her up . Before , he had n't been able to lift her off the ground even a little , she said .

That moment was worth everything .

`` A lot of people look at it like , ` Why is that such a big deal ? ' '' she said . `` But -LRB- when -RRB- you never thought you 'd see that moment , that somebody can pick you up ... it is a big deal . ''

The other big part of the surprise : She had bought a new house while he was away .

Since then , Shaffer has been able to keep the weight off .

When her husband left she was a size 22 to 24 ; now she can wear a women 's size 6 . She 's especially loving how much money she saves on smaller clothes . Khakis , for example , used to cost $ 80 , but she found a pair for her new physique for only $ 7 .

She said her husband 's eating habits have n't changed much ; he likes her cooking , but he 'll help himself to ice cream or cake afterward . Sometimes she will join him . But she 's not too tempted to go back to her old ways of eating .

`` I 've seen how hard I worked , and what I had to go through to get to this point , '' she said .

She 's still in disbelief when her husband picks her up .

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Misty Shaffer 's husband was deployed to Afghanistan

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In May 2013 she met him at the airport , more than 100 pounds lighter

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She focused on healthy eating during her weight loss